Spring-leaf spreader



F. W. VOLZ.

SPRING LEAF SPREADER.

APPLICATION FiLED OCT-20. 1917.

1,388,539. P tented Apr. 27,1920.

FREDERICK VOLZ, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

SPRING-LEAF SPREADER.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Apr. 27, 1920.

Application filemtOctober 20, 1917. Serial No. 197,673.

To all whom iii-may concern:

Be it known that :1, FREDERICK- W. VoLz,

a citizen ofthe United States,.residing. at.

Vashington, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain-anew anduseful -Improvements in SpringLeaf Spreaders, of

which the followingis a specification.

This invention relates to spring-leaf spreaders or separators which areused for separating the leaves of a leafspring. or laminated spring topermit .cleaning'or lubricationthereof and isintended as an im-'provement in that class of tools having consumed in itsoperation will bereduced to a practical minimunn The invention comprises spreaderelements, toward or away from each other, to bring the spreader elementsby a single movement approximately into such a position on oppositesides of aspring that the wedges or spreaders may, by a short and quickmovement, be forced between the leaves tospread them.

For a'fuller understanding of-',the'invention, reference is had to theappended drawings in which- Figurel is a view of an embodiment of theinvention in side elevation;

Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof;

Fig. 3 a side elevation of a modified form; and

Fig. 4: a perspective view of a detail.

On a bar or rod 1 are mounted two relatively adjustable supports 2 and 3carrying the spreader elements 5 and 6. One of these supports, forinstance the support 2, is normally held in fixed position on bar 1, butis connected thereto, as by a conventional set screw 4, so that it canbe conveniently detached and replaced bya different support or a newsupport.

The support 3 is made adjustable on bar 1. I order to facilitate therelative movement of the supports toward and away from essentiallymechanism for affording an initial rapid adjustment of the supportscarryingxthe each: other andthereby the movement of the spreaderelements to quickly encompass the leaf springs to be spread,I have madesup-- port freely slidablc on bar 1 and have provided means for lookingit in any desired position against pressure tending to force it awayfrom support 2. While there is-considera'ble latitudein the selection ofmeans for the particular pnrpose, I have found that a rack and pawlconnection give thebest results. A rack 7 is shown as formed on the bar1 and a. pawl 8 on sup port 3.; It is obvious that the relation of theparts may be-reversed. This arrange- 'ment-h as the advantage that thebending strain, which is greatest at the upper end ofthe support 3, ispractically neutralized by the pawl 8. The significance of thisadvantage is not so much the immediate and direct advantage itself, butrather the indirectefl'ect. As a result ofthis arrangement it ispossible to make the support 3 of lighterconstruction. and to moreloosely fit it on bar :1 than would be feasible without it so thatsliding it toward and away from the support 1 is an easy operation,especially since this operation must be performed, as is inherent in theapplication of the device, with one hand only.

The pawl 8 is shown pivoted on a pin 9- mounted on support 3, but thisdetail feature is-not of importance. element or wedge 6 is preferablydetachably fixed on support 3. The spreadingelement 5 mountedonacollar10 is given movement forward and backward relatively to the support-2 bymeans'of a screw 11 havinga shank portion extending within the collar lOandconnected therewith for relative turning motion by a swivelconnection indicated by a set screw or pin 12 engaging in a circulargroove in the shank. The screw 11 has screw-threaded engagement with thesupport 2, so that by turning it to the right or left the spreadingelement 5 may be reciprocated forward or backward, respectively.

In order to insure movement of the spreader element in a single planerelatively to the support 2, a pin 12' is connected to the spreaderelement and has sliding motion in a bore 13 in the support 2 asindicated in dotted lines. To coordinate the movements of the spreadingelements 5 and 6 and insure movement thereof in a single plane thesupport 3 is provided with a guide pin 11 The spreading extending into agroove 15 in the bar 1. The movement of the spreading elements isthereby always correlated to the effect that when one spreading edge isentered between two adjacent leaves of a spring, the other edgeautomatically enters between two leaves on'the other side thereof.Support 2 is also provided with a guide pin 16 to similarly engage ingroove 15 so that when a support is taken off bar 1 and put back inposition, it is at once properly alined with the other support.

Screw 11 is turned by a crank lever 17, preferably pivotally connectedthereto, and a handle 18.

The operation is as follows The device is brought in position adjacentto a spring on an automobile or other vehicle so that wed e 5 enters thespace between two leaves. hile the device is held in such position byone hand, the other hand lifts the pawl and shifts the support 3 to theleft or right according to the width of the springs until the wedge 6can enter the corresponding space between two leaves on the other side.When that position is reached the handle 18 may be given a few turns tospread the leaves. In practice the support 3 may be grasped by the thumbindex and middle finger, while the ring finger or the little finger orboth may be free for manipulating the pawl. With a little practice it ispossible to apply the device in a fraction of a minute with no moredifliculty than shifting a weight on a scale beam. The

screw 11 has merely the purpose of advancing the Spreaders for theactual spreading. Substantially all the other relative motion of thespreaders to bring them into position is brought about through themotion of support 3 by manipulation as above described.

The device shown in Fig. 3 is enerally like that shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

leaves to a practical minimum I have made' elements I form on the collar25 and on the support 26 sockets 27 and 28 respectively to receive thespreader elements. The sockets may, of course, be formed in many ways.For the purpose of illustration I have shown dove-tailed grooves 29 and30 extending horizontally through the sockets 27 and 28. The spreaderelements are provided with shanks 31 and 32 to fit in these grooves. Forcentering the spreader elements and locking them in position I haveshown a cone-shaped recess 33 in the shank 32 and pins 34; and 35extending through corresponding openings in the sockets and normallypressed inwardly by springs 36 and 37. To interchange spreader elementsit is only necessary to slightly lift the pins by any suitable means,pull out the spreader elements and enter different spreader elements intheir place.

I claim I A-spring leaf spreader device comprising a bar, arms mountedon the bar and carrying at their free ends spreader elements facing eachother, one of said arms being slidably adjustable on the bar toward andaway from the other arm, a pawl pivoted on the adjustable arm near thefree end thereof and cooperating with the bar for holding the arm indesired adjusted position against movement away from the other arm, thepawl being normally so inclined relatively to the movable arm as todefine therewith a hand-receiving opening, and means for moving thespreader element on the relatively stationary arm toward and away fromthe spreader element on the movable arm.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

FREDERICK W. VOLZ.

